Congress is heading into a critical two-week stretch before the holidays after the Senate adjourned today without taking a procedural vote on a package of appropriations bills.

According to Punchbowl News, disagreements between Republican appropriators and fiscal hawks stalled progress, leaving a number of key funding questions unresolved.

When senators return next week, they will face a substantial year-end workload: making headway on outstanding government funding bills, advancing the annual must-pass National Defense Authorization Act, and voting on legislation to extend expiring healthcare tax credits.

Following the recent prolonged shutdown, Congress passed a short-term continuing resolution (CR) that funds the government until January 30, 2026.

  • The CR provides full-year funding for three appropriations bills: Agriculture; Military Construction and Veterans Affairs; and the Legislative Branch.
  • However, the remaining nine FY2026 bills still require action to avoid another potential shutdown early next year.

What’s next: A major pressure point in the coming weeks is the fate of Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium subsidies.

  • These enhanced subsidies expire at the end of December, and Senate Democrats plan to propose a three-year extension for a vote expected on December 11.
  • Under the agreement that ended the shutdown, Democrats control the proposal that the Senate will consider.

However, Senate Minority Leader John Thune has signaled that a clean three-year extension is “designed to fail,” noting that any bill will need 60 votes to advance.

  • Some Republican senators, including Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Thom Tillis (R-NC), have expressed support for a shorter two-year extension, but only with income caps or other guardrails.

Disagreements over whether to include abortion-related funding restrictions remain another major hurdle.

–ASAE